Albus Potter and the First Year
by orangecircus
Summary: It’s Albus Potter’s first year at Hogwarts, and he couldn’t be more excited, but he could be more nervous. As Albus attends Hogwarts, he stresses to not fall into his father's shadow, but may just follow in his footsteps as he ventures through the school.
1. The Journey to Hogwarts

**Unfortunately, I do not own the **_**Harry Potter**_** novels; J.K. Rowling does, and I am grateful she does, because she writes them very well!**

The cool air whipped Albus Potter's face as he stuck his head out the open window of the Hogwarts Express. He opened his green eyes to examine the scenery flashing by. The sun was high in the sky, illuminating the rolling green hills below, but also casting shadows from the mountains that towered above them. The only sources of cloud in sight were from the scarlet steam engine.

This was it; he was finally going to Hogwarts, the place he longed to go to ever since he heard about it. Finally, he was going to be a first year! James, his brother, now in his fourth year, had told Albus many things about it, but Albus assumed only half of the information was correct.

A poke in the side of his ribcage caused Albus to retreat back into the cozy compartment. It was from his cousin, Rose Weasley, who had been sitting next to him. The two were the only ones who occupied the compartment, but now a girl stood in the doorway, a serene smile on her face.

"Hello," she said in a soft voice, locking her gray-blue eyes with Albus's. She had wispy, long white-blonde hair that hung on her shoulders. Thinking of the concept of hair, he just noticed his was windswept and sticking up. Albus began to run his fingers through his black hair to flatten it while the girl continued, "may I sit with you?"

"Sure," Albus and Rose said in unison.

The girl sat down opposite to them, placing her bags on the overhead rack, still smiling.

"My name is Paris Willow," the girl said in her soft voice. "What's yours?"

"I'm Rose Weasley," Rose greeted, pointing to herself. "And this is my cousin, Albus Potter." She pointed to Albus next to her, who was still attempting to flatten his hair.

Paris did not respond immediately, but stared at Albus with a blank expression. Suddenly, her face broke into a wide smile.

"Oh! I think I know who you are," she said chirped.

"I don't think we've met before," Albus replied.

"No, no, I mean, my mum knew a Potter," Paris responded, tilting her head slightly in thought. "He was…Harry Potter."

"Oh, right," Albus said weakly, feeling his face turning warm. "That's my dad."

He hadn't even gotten to Hogwarts yet, and now he was worrying even more. What if people would see him as "Harry Potter's kid" and be forced to live in his father's shadow? But then he remembered that James had been at Hogwarts for four years now; he must've built his own reputation. This reassured Albus slightly, but not completely.

Rose was looking at Paris curiously. "Was your mum friends with Harry?"

"Oh yes," said Paris, nodding. "She had gone with him and her other friends on an adventure once, to the Ministry of Magic."

"What's your mum's name?" Albus asked.

"Luna," Paris replied. "She was Luna Lovegood before she got married to my father, Karl Willow."

Rose's face lit up. "Yes, I know about your mum!" she exclaimed. "My mum and dad talked about her, and so did Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry."

"Your mum and dad?" Paris inquired. "Who are they?"

"Ron and Hermione Weasley," Rose said quickly. "Have you heard of them? From your mum?"

Paris pondered the thought for a moment, while Albus looked from Rose to Paris, anxious to know the answer.

"I think so," she finally answered. "They must've been the people who also went with my mum to the Ministry."

"Well, if they were such good friends, how come they don't ever see your mum anymore?" Albus questioned.

"I think it's because we travel a lot," Paris said. "My parents are well-known naturalists - we're always going somewhere new, discovering new things…"

Her voice trailed off as she stared out the window. This gave Albus something to think about, and Rose, who had her brow furrowed in thought. He did remember his parents telling him, James, and his younger sister, Lily, that they had broke into the Ministry of Magic when the were teenagers, looking for his dad's godfather, but had stumbled across a prophecy instead and fought those Death Eater people and even Voldemort himself. Now that he thought even more about it, his father had mentioned names, as did his mother, and Luna seemed familiar.

Suddenly, Rose's head jerked forward and she stared at Paris's shoulder.

"Umm, Paris," Rose said cautiously, her brown eyes still locked on Paris's shoulder. "I think I just saw something in your shoulder."

Paris laughed shortly. "Oh, that's just Fritz," she said, reaching her arms behind her back and retrieving a small, orange kitten with big, green eyes. "He likes to wrap himself around my shoulders."

Albus raised his eyebrows in amusement, and Rose giggled slightly. He remembered now that his parents had said that Luna was a bit odd, and had been dubbed the unkind nickname "Loony Lovegood" at Hogwarts, and Paris seemed to inherit her mother's aura of distinct dottiness.

A short time later, the food trolley came to their compartment. Rose, who's stomach had been rumbling earlier ("Dad said they have great food here, so I didn't want to eat _too_ much beforehand," she had explained) was the first to receive chocolate frogs and Licorice Wands. Albus ordered the Chocolate Frogs, and Paris, after much contemplation, chose Peppermint Frogs.

While munching on a Frog's head, Albus noticed Rose's profile concealed by her long, red-brown hair, which was usually neatly tucked behind her ears. She was holding a Chocolate Frog up to her face.

"Hey, Al, take a look at this," Rose said brightly, placing her hair behind her ear again as she handed the Frog Card to Albus. He peered down at it, and the name of the card caught his attention immediately.

"Albus Dumbledore!" Albus said loudly and excitedly. "I was named after him!"

"How many other Albus's do we know?" Rose snickered.

"Very funny," Albus said humorlessly. "But still…"

Albus examined the other Albus's appearance: he was an old man, with a long silver beard, and piercing blue eyes that twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles. When he smiled up at Albus Potter, he noticed his crooked nose. As he read the small paragraph dedicated to Dumbledore, Albus thought, _Does everyone expect me to grow up and be like him? Is that why I was named Albus?_ This man was said to be one of the greatest sorcerers of his time - what did they expect of the _new_ Albus?

Sure, Albus had been told the great story every other person associated in the magic world had heard, about his father, Dumbledore, and Lord Voldemort, but he had never felt so intimidated as he did now, to the man he was named after.

"Cool, huh?" Rose said, after swallowing a Frog's leg. This brought Albus out of his thoughts, and he noticed Rose had chocolate around her lips and Paris was massaging her stomach, looking vague.

"Yeah…" Albus said softly, passing the card back to Rose: as he did, he noticed the Albus in the card wink at him.

"Blimey, I wish I were named after someone cool," Rose said thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. "Instead, I was named after a flower." Her eyes snapped open, then her brows knitted together in slight agitation. "At least, that's what Mum and Dad said - I figure it's really because my name starts with an 'R' like Dad, and Hugo's is just because Mum's name starts with an 'H'. I mean, Hugo isn't a flower, now is it?"

Rose sighed and closed her eyes again. Paris, who had just realized what was going on, said, "I was named after the place where my mum and dad met." She smiled. "But I still haven't been there. Hopefully Mum and Dad will track something interesting down there and we can go."

Albus smiled back at her, then looked up at the luggage rack as his black owl, Inferno, hooted hungrily.

"Hungry?" Albus said to his owl, which looked down at him with his orange eyes and clicked his beak in confirmation. He fished around in the pocket of his new robes, (which he had changed into when they had got onto the train) and pulled a bag of owl treats from his pocket, and feed a few to Inferno. In the cage next to Inferno's, Rose's orange owl, Jewel, looked at Inferno in jealousy and glared down at her master with amber eyes, who was chewing on a licorice wand. Albus noticed this, and feed a few to Jewel as well. She hooted appreciatively. Albus chuckled.

"Rosie, I reckon Jewel may come to like me better than you," he said to his cousin, who looked up in confusion.

"Why do you say that?" Rose asked, and then looked up at her owl, who was staring at the package of owl treats next to Albus.

"_I_ end up feeding her when you neglect her," Albus joked.

Rose frowned and looked back up at Jewel.

"You like me better, don't you, Jewel?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Trying to avoid an answer, Jewel shuffled her wings and turned around on her perch.

Rose glared at her cousin and put her hand to her heart.

"You've turned my own owl against me!" she gasped, and then laughed, Albus joining in. Paris noticed the laughter, and paused the rubbing of her stomach to laugh along with the other two, though it was clear she didn't know what was so funny.

Soon after, then lamps hanging in the compartment turned on, (everyone in the small room jumping in surprise) and Albus peered out of the window, noticing the sky had turned a dark blue, the trees now dark, and seeing a sliver of the moon.

"Hey, I reckon we're almost there!" Albus exclaimed, and Rose leaned over him to see outside as well. Paris, who had been staring out the window most of the time throughout the ride, had not moved, seeing as she was doing that already.

Suddenly, the compartment door slid open, revealing the tall, brown-haired brother of Albus's that was James.

"Hiya, first years," he said, glancing around at the half-empty compartment. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. Gee, Al, you haven't got many friends in here! How many have you made so far?"

Albus turned a pink color, and James laughed.

"Just 'winding you up' as Dad would say," James said. "Don't worry, you'll have plenty friends in no time. I mean, you're a Potter! Everyone loves a Potter."

As he turned to leave the compartment, he turned his neck to look back in one more time and added in a serious tone, "Or not."

The compartment door closed, leaving Albus to ponder in his brother's parting words. Was he actually serious, or was he joking around, just like he always did?

"What do you think James meant?" Albus asked, not completely able to block the apprehension out of his voice as he spoke to Rose.

Rose looked at him and raised her eyebrows, a signature trademark that was Rose's.

"You worry too much," she said pointedly, balling up her Chocolate Frog bag. Albus could not contradict her - it was true, after all. "Lighten up - everything will be fine."

All Albus could do was take Rose's word for it, because just as he said, "Yeah, I guess," the train's windows revealed the grand castle of Hogwarts.


	2. The Infamous Shouting Match

"We're here!" Rose shrieked excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

It was true; they finally were at Hogwarts! All Albus's past enthusiasm of coming to the school mounted to it's highest extent as the train stopped. The castle loomed over the grounds below, which were cast in its shadow. The windows were distinguishable by a glow of bright yellow light coming from them. Other than that, no other windows were visible.

"Oh, look!" Paris said suddenly, pointing out her compartment window to the great black lake on the Hogwart's grounds. "There's a ripple in the water; I think I saw a tentacle!"

"Probably," Rose nodded eagerly. "My parents told me about a giant squid that lives in the lake."

"Same here," Albus said, raking the area with his eyes for any sign of the squid. "That lake is where my mum and dad spent their free time."

Rose laughed. "How do you know that? I don't know where my parents snogged, nor do I want to."

Albus was becoming accustomed to the shade of pink he kept turning.

"Let's get going," Paris decided, stowing Fritz safely in the pocket of her robes and pulled her bags from the overhead rack.

Albus and Rose imitated her, also removing their owls from the rack. Paris lead the way out of the compartment and into the crowded hallway of the train.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before we suffocate," Rose huffed as an older student had trodden on her foot.

"How?" Albus inquired as he attempted avoiding a tripping student. Beside him, Paris looked completely patient.

Rose smiled as people pushed past her. "I've got a plan," she said. "You'll have to be quick about it, though, I don't know how long they'll stare."

Albus was completely bewildered as he said, "What are you going to -?"

But before he could finish his question, Rose threw back her head, and bellowed, "HARRY POTTER'S KID COMIN' THROUGH! MAKE WAY, MAKE WAY FOR THE POTTER KID! HE'S ALBUS POTTER AND HE'S GOT A DAD WHO WILL KICK YOUR A -"

"_ROSE!_"

Albus was beet-red as he drowned out his cousin's threat. However, Rose was completely calm after yelling. Sure enough, people stopped in their tracks, and gazed at them with mixtures of curiosity, annoyance, and humor. There was a slim path forming as people turned around.

"Go, Albus Severus, go!" Rose cheered happily as she mimed kicking her cousin forward. Albus ran forward, trying to avoid meeting anyone's stares, but he could not block out the outbreak of talk as Rose trotted behind him with Paris at her heels.

"_Potter?_"

"Look! I can see him! He looks like his dad -"

"His brother doesn't look like Harry at all -"

"He thinks that will get him through this crowd?"

"Show-off! He thinks he's so special -"

"Umm, he kinda is…"

Rose kept her head high as Albus attempted to hide his. Paris, however, was not fazed as she kept pace behind Rose.

"YES, IT IS HIM!" she continued, holding her arm up with her palm up as she walked, skipping slightly. "THE BOY WHO'S DAD VANQUISHED THE DARK LORD! HIS NAME IS ALBUS AND HE NEEDS SOME WALKING SPACE, SO MOVE ASIDE!"

"ROSE! SHUT IT!" Albus roared as he used Inferno's cage to hide his face.

People were still staring at him, but Rose had guessed right: she didn't know how long they would stare. Albus was not the one who had defeated Voldemort, nor was the one who had survived the Killing Curse. He was only the son of the man who did. Why did his father's shadow crop up everywhere he turned? It was maddening and frustrating.

Albus decided to fight back, despite his embarrassment, which was now causing him to react desperately. He yelled back, "ROSE WEASLEY, THE NIECE OF HARRY POTTER, WITH A MOUTH AS BIG AS HER EGO! SHE NEEDS ROOM FOR HER AND HER ATTITUDE, SO MOVE!"

Now people began to laugh as Albus momentarily revealed his face to yell back. He covered it again, though, as he was finished, walking even faster.

Rose had not expected her slightly shy and reserved cousin to do this, and she fell back a step in surprise, Paris accidentally bumping into her.

"Can we just walk normally?" Paris asked Rose, but it was audible among the surrounding people. "I mean, Albus isn't that famous, his dad is."

"Don't spoil the secret of path-making!" Rose said, resuming her air of pride and haughtiness. "I mean, he could pass for a mini-Harry, just grab him some glasses and get a marker for the scar!"

A few more chuckles came from the nearby passengers.

Finally, the threesome reached the exit of the train, where someone else was yelling outside.

"FIRS' YEARS!" the familiar voice to Albus yelled. "FIRS' YEARS OVER 'ERE!"

Albus spotted Rubeus Hagrid, (it was not hard, for he was half-giant) the Hogwarts gamekeeper and good friend of the family. He was waving his dustbin lid-size hand to guide the younger students towards him as the older ones departed for the horseless carriages.

"Hi, Hagrid," Albus said happily as he gratefully jumped down the steps of the Hogwarts Express and ran over to him, Rose and Paris following.

"Albus!" Hagrid said, smiling down at him beneath his mass of dark hair. "'Ow are you feelin', now that yer here?"

"Nervous," Albus answered truthfully.

Behind him, Rose waved up at Hagrid and chirped, "Hiya, Hagrid!"

"'Ey there, Rosie," Hagrid greeted her, and then resumed the calling of the first years.

By the time the first years and the older students had been distinguishably separated, Hagrid lead the youngest students down to the black lake, where many little boats floated silently in the water, waiting for them.

"On'y four to a boat," Hagrid informed in a booming voice that carried itself all the way to the back of the group. "C'mon now!"

Instinctively, Albus, Rose, and Paris stuck together to find a boat to themselves, and chose the one behind Hagrid.

When everyone was safely seated in the boats, they started to glide through the water, making clean ripples on the lake's surface as they rode. Minutes passed while Albus, Rose, and Paris talked excitedly about which Houses they would be sorted into.

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor," Albus said anxiously. "James keeps saying I might be in Slytherin, but Dad says he's just messing me around, and that Slytherin isn't so bad." He looked at the other two apprehensively.

"I guess not," Rose said. "But remember what Dad said to me? He'll disinherit me if I'm not in Gryffindor."

"He was kidding," Albus replied.

"Exactly!" Rose said, cracking a smile. "Which is what James was doing, so don't take it so seriously."

He couldn't help feeling a little more reassured at this comment, so he also smiled back.

"Well, I would like to be in Ravenclaw, like my mum," Paris noted softly. "She said it was a very good House."

"I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad," Rose chipped in. "But I'd like Gryffindor better."

"Me too," Albus agreed.

Finally, they felt the boat gently bump against the dock on the other side of the lake.

"C'mon ev'ryone, out 'o the boats!" Hagrid called, ushering them all out.

Albus took a second longer than Rose and Paris to leave. He fixed his eyes on the Hogwarts castle, transfixed. It was truly amazing, towering over him. He was closer to it than he had ever been.

Shuffling out of the boat behind Rose and Paris, he noticed that it was not just him who had been staring at the castle. A lot of his peers were still hanging behind, looking, open-mouthed, at the castle.

"C'mon!" Hagrid said yet again, and everyone vacated the boats. He led them up a hill to the castle, the eleven year-olds buzzing with excitement and anxiety.

The doors opened, and everyone fell silent.


	3. The Sorting of the Students

A woman stood before them, standing in the entrance hall where its bright light flooded the outside. She had a sharp face and expression, with graying hair balled up in a bun hidden beneath her emerald-colored witch hat, which matched her robes.

"Hello everyone," the woman said, her hands folded together. "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I teach Transfiguration. Right this way."

She turned and led the students further into the entrance hall. They all attempted to form a neat, straight line, but it was difficult with the students in front rushing to the back; no one was keen to be in the front.

Finally, when all the students were lined up properly, the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing five different tables. Four of them, the student's tables, were all lined up vertically, but the one at the front of the Great Hall, which was the teacher's, was horizontal. Above them, the ceiling mimicked the sky outside: it was a deep blue, sprinkled with bright stars.

The first years stood in awe as they stared up at the ceiling: it was as if they were outside! They eventually shuffled into the Great Hall, still looking nervous, Albus among them.

"James was right about one thing," he whispered to Rose and Paris, who were all looking up at the sky, in awe, like the rest of their peers. "The ceiling _does_ look like the sky."

Professor McGonagall and Hagrid walked up to the teacher's dining table. Hagrid sat down, and McGonagall retrieved a long piece of parchment from her robes and stood by a stool with an old, weathered hat upon it.

A man stood up from the middle of the table. He had dull, brown hair that went neatly down to his shoulders and matching beard and brown that were eyes fixed upon the small gathering of first years, then switched to the other House tables.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the man said in a booming, deep voice. "To those returning for another year, welcome back! To those who are new, I hope you will enjoy your time here!

"To those of you who do not know who I am, my name is Professor Alderson, and I am the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Now, there is things to discuss, but now is not the time. Let the Sorting to begin!"

Suddenly, the brim of the hat opened wide, like a mouth, and began to sing.

"_Oh, I'm the Sorting Hat…_"

"Is this what they use to sort us?" whispered Paris. "I think Mum mentioned a hat before, but she never told me clearly."

"Yeah, this is what my mum and dad told me about," Rose replied in a whisper as well.

Albus nodded, staring at the Sorting Hat in awe, just like the rest of the new students.

"_I'll put you in your place;_

_Without even seeing your face._

_I do not judge on appearance or looks;_

_Just the way you study with your books." _

The Hat starting singing about the different qualities of the four different Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and (Albus gulped) Slytherin.

Finally, with an attempt at a small bow, the Sorting Hat fell silent. Everyone broke into applause.

"I shall call out your names in alphabetical order," Professor McGonagall informed the Hall. "Please come up to the stool when your name is called.

"Averton, Hailey!"

A girl with wavy brown hair from the back of the first-years group shuffled forward, looking extremely nervous; an expression that matched the majority of the new student's. Hailey picked up the hat and sat down on the stool, her hands clutching the edges of it.

Hailey dropped the Sorting Hat on her head, which drooped over her eyes. A few moments later, the hat opened it's brim again and bellowed, "_HUFFLEPUFF!_"

The Hufflepuff's table broke into applause as Hailey joined them, looking more relieved and less tense since when she approached the stool.

Professor McGonagall continued to call out names, all of which Albus did not know or heard of. Finally, he heard the name, "Malfoy, Scorpius."

Albus saw Scorpius pass him on his way up to the stool, looking haughty and proud, with a sharp face and white-blond hair. When he sat on the stool, the hat cried, (almost immediately when it touched his head) "_SLYTHERIN!_"

The Slytherin table clapped as Scorpius joined them.

Many other names were called. Finally, after "Parson, Garret" ("_RAVENCLAW!_") was called, Albus heard an extremely familiar name.

"Potter, Albus."

Two things happened after a second his name was called: an outbreak of muttering, and Albus shaking nervously. After a second, though, only the shaking stopped, and Albus walked forward. He glimpsed James's face at the Gryffindor table as he walked: he was sitting next to their cousin, Victoire, and grinning like mad. He did a thumbs-up to Albus as he walked up to the stool.

Putting the hat on his head and sitting on the stool, Albus did not receive the call of any of the House's names. Instead, an unfamiliar voice issuing inside his head said, "_Potter, Potter, Potter…I've heard that name many times in my lifetime. Yes, it is a widely known name now, isn't it? Well, they all ended up in Gryffindor. But…what about you? Will you go the same way?_"

The voice paused, and Albus was worrying even more. Was he hinting that he wasn't going to be in Gryffindor?

"_Ah…you're a worrisome one, you are. Hmm…well, let's see. Yes, I know where you belong._"

_Worrisome one?_ Albus recounted. Did the "worrisome" people go into Hufflepuff? But before he could dwell on this thought, the Sorting Hat announced, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

There was a roar of applause from the Gryffindor table; some people even stood up, Victoire among them. ("You did it, Albus! YES!")

Albus walked wearily over to the table and sat down between his brother and Victoire. James clapped him on the back, laughing.

"I knew you'd be in Gryffindor, Al," he said as the clapping died down.

"No you didn't," Albus hissed at him. "You said I'd be in Slytherin!"

But James simply chuckled as the Sorting continued.

Finally, the name "Weasley, Rose" was called.

Even though Rose had been showing great amounts of confidence ever since they sat down in their compartment, it failed her as she walked towards the stool. Her legs and lower lip trembled slightly as she tried to retrieve her confidant demeanor. But when she sat down on the stool and the Sorting Hat placed upon her head, shouting "_GRYFFINDOR!_", Rose was beaming. She practically skipped over to the cheering Gryffindor table and wedged herself between Albus and Victoire, who hugged her.

"Congratulations!" Victoire squealed, her strawberry-blonde hair brushing Rose's face as she hugged her.

"That wasn't so hard," Rose said, waving her hand indifferently after Victoire released her.

"Really?" James said with a smirk, craning her head over his brother to face Rose. "I do recall you wobbling up to the stool, Rosie-Wosie."

Rose glared at her cousin, and then turned her head on him as another familiar name was called.

"Willow, Paris."

Paris, unlike most of the first-year students, had strode up to the stool with surprising confidence. As she placed the hat upon her head of wispy-blond hair, she waited patiently with her legs crossed, drumming her fingers across them.

After a moment of contemplation, the Sorting Hat yelled, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

Paris's eyes widened in surprise. For the first time since Albus had met her, she seemed completely aware of what was going on, but was unwilling to believe it. She remained seated on the stool, even after the clapping from the Gryffindor's had died out, (which hadn't been very long, seeing as they were confused as to why she was not moving) looking incredulous. Professor McGonagall gave her an appraising look, and gestured towards the Gryffindor table. Paris, however, stared at her for some explanation without getting up for her seat. Professor McGonagall swept over to Paris, whipped the Sorting Hat off of her head, and said rather audibly, "Go!"

Paris shuffled, downcast, towards the Gryffindor table. Her demeanor looked like the one that was usually used when the first-years went up to be sorted, and her original confidant one was used when the students left the stool. Albus looked at her quizzically as she sat down on the opposite side of him and Rose.

While Professor McGonagall continued calling out names, Albus asked the disappointed-looking Paris, "What's wrong? Don't you want to be in Gryffindor?"

Rose looked at her expectantly. "Yeah! In the boat, you didn't say you _didn't_ want to be in Gryffindor."

Paris sighed. "Yes, but, my mum was in Ravenclaw, and I think she was hoping that I would be too." She looked up and gazed towards the ceiling. "Oh, what will she think of me?"

"There's nothing wrong with being a Gryffindor," snapped Victoire defensively. She appeared to be eavesdropping.

"It's not that," Paris said, and sighed again. "I was just so expecting I'd be in Ravenclaw that I didn't even ask to be in it."

"Ask?" Victoire repeated, now looking confused instead of angry. "Ask _who_?"

"The Sorting Hat, of course," Paris informed her. "It talks to you. I could've asked it to put me in Ravenclaw."

"Oh," Victoire responded. She looked thoughtfully at the opposite wall, apparently lost in thought. Albus had a feeling that she was recounting the memory of when the Sorting Hat had talked to her, but it was hard, since it was six years ago.

"And my mum was in Ravenclaw," Paris continued, looking down at the table sadly. "And I wanted to be in it, too…"

"Well, you'll _love_ being a Gryffindor," James assured her, leaning forward and winking. "We've got all the other qualities of the other Houses, plus bravery. But not so much Slytherin," he added thoughtfully, and shrugged.

Paris looked at him closely and said, all House-talk forgotten, "Didn't you come into our compartment on the Hogwarts Express?"

"Why, yes I did," James said with a grin, thumping Albus on the back. "This here is my brother. Didn't you tell her that?" he shot at Albus, who turned pink and mumbled, "No…"

"James Potter," he said, extending his hand out to shake hers. "And you are…Paris?"

"Yes, Paris Willow," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Don't worry, Miss Willow, you'll enjoy Gryffindor more than Ravenclaw, I'm sure," James said cheerfully.

After a few more claps for the remaining unsorted students, the Sorting was finished.

"Now," said the booming voice of Professor Alderson, who stood up. "Let's eat!"

In the blink of an eye, amazing food appeared on the golden plates in front of them. Digging into the food he piled onto his plate, Albus looked back up at the sky-mimicking ceiling, staring thoughtfully. _So far, so good_.


	4. Memories

"C'mon, Dad, we're going to be late!" Lily moaned from the doorway, hopping from foot to foot.

It was almost noon, the day after Harry's sons had departed for Hogwarts. Lily had been exceptionally anxious from of her brother's depart, but it usually abated over a few days, and then she was back to her normal behavior.

"Coming, Lily!"

Harry hopped down the stairs and down the hallway to the back door, where Ginny and Lily were standing. Lily bolted out the door at the sight of her father, while Ginny just smiled after her.

"Lils, wait a moment!" she called, laughing.

Harry walked towards the door, where he joined Ginny, who took his hand and lead them outside the tall, brick house to a patch of elevated grass in the houses backyard.

Lily was still bouncing on the spot when her parents arrived next to her. She held out her arm to her father, who took her hand.

"Let's go!" Lily shrieked. Harry and Ginny exchanged raised eyebrows and grins, and then he turned on the spot, Apparating into thin air.

The threesome appeared on a similar grassy hill not far away from their house. As they stood up, Harry spotted a small boy standing not far away by the door to a squat, wooden house, and his face lit up at the sight at them.

"MUM! DAD!" Hugo Weasley bellowed over his shoulder through the open door, "THEY'RE HERE!"

Suddenly, the figures of Ron and Hermione appeared, both wearing smiles. Hermione waved.

"Hello!" she called. "Come in, won't you?"

Lily ran up to Hugo and started talking animatedly while walking inside, followed by Harry and Ginny.

Inside was a merry, warm kitchen with matching wooden cabinets lining the far wall. Hermione strode over to the stove, where a pan was simmering, producing an appetizing aroma.

"Sit down!" she said merrily, as Harry, Ron, and Ginny seated themselves around the circular table in the middle of the kitchen, while Hugo snatched his Chocolate Frog collection from the counter and showed Lily.

As Hugo and lily flickered through the different cards and talking excitedly, Hermione set down six bowls on the table, revealing chicken and dumpling soup. As she sat down, Hermione said with a little sigh, "So…they're off to Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Harry said as the others took spoonfuls of their soups. "It's not as new for us as it is for you, but still…"

Ron nodded. "I'm sure they'll adapt pretty soon. It didn't take us long, did it?"

"Sort of," Harry replied, now dipping into his soup.

"Hopefully they'll finish their _whole_ education," Hermione commented in a mutter before taking a sip of soup.

"Why do you say that, Auntie Hermione?" Lily piped, sitting down beside her mother; Hugo sat down by his father, looking up from his Chocolate Frog's momentarily for his mother's response.

Hermione smiled slightly. "Well, _we _never finished our last year at Hogwarts."

"Except me," Ginny added with a smirk. "I was a good girl and didn't get into trouble."

Harry spared her an expression involving a raised eyebrow before Ron spoke.

"Not so true," he said, swirling his spoon around in his bowl as he looked at Lily. "I do admit that we were troublemakers, but Miss Innocent here -" He jerked his head towards Ginny. "- almost got killed from sneaking off during the big fight."

While Ginny scowled at this jab, Hugo shook his head with a bored expression. He had, even more than any other witch or wizard in the world, been told the story of Voldemort's final downfall in more detail than anyone else's (besides his family's) perspective. And it had been told many, many times; so many times, in fact, that such an exciting tale turned dull.

"For your information, Ronald," Ginny said in a lofty voice. "I was perfectly fine. And you can't have expected I would have stayed in that room the whole time, would you? I didn't die."

"You almost did, I saw it," Harry recounted. Ginny shot him a scolding look, then countered with, "Ah, yes, and might I add that everyone was convinced that _you _were dead at the time you saw this?"

"Well, I was headed for Voldemort until I saw Bellatrix just miss you," Harry said in his defense. "Until Grandma Weasley…took care of things."

Hugo and Lily did not seem to notice the lack of detail in Harry's sentence, and that was considered a good thing among the adults: they had decided to leave out Molly Weasley's defeat of Bellatrix Lestrange when they told their children what had happened, but just that Bellatrix was killed.

"Even so," Hermione said, bringing her spoon up to her lips. "I do hope they finish." She glanced at Harry and Ron. "I sort of wish _we_ did."

"We were smart enough, we didn't need another year of tests and studying," Ron responded with a shrug.

"Well, yes…"

And then, Harry was overwhelmed by the memory of his last time staying at Hogwarts; the day Voldemort was defeated once and for all.

_Sunlight streamed through the window beside Harry's bed. His surroundings, the inside of the Gryffindor boy's dormitories, were all slightly blurred, due to the fact that his glasses were sitting on the bedside table._

_Putting them on, Harry noticed that he was still wearing his clothes from only a few hours before. Though he had cleaned his scratches and dried blood off his body before depositing himself on his bed and falling asleep, he still felt unclean. But, it wasn't his cleanliness that was making him feel this way, it was his own emotions. One blind second after Harry woke up, he forgot about what had happened just hours before, until he realized Voldemort was killed, along with Lupin, Tonks, and Fred, and all the others who had died fighting for him. This thought hit him with a miserable pang, and grudgingly got out of bed. _

_Staring out the window, Harry saw people sitting out by the lake and scattered amongst the Hogwarts grounds, most of them all accompanied by someone else; Harry assumed they were with surviving family members. _

_Another thing Harry noticed was the wreckage of the battle littering the Hogwarts lawn. There were chunks of rubble from the castle strewn onto the grass with patches of dark red blood staining it. The Whomping Willow seemed to be missing a few branches, and flinched feebly in the breeze._

_Looking down, Harry saw the remains of his sandwich that Kreacher made for him on the bedside table right beside where his glasses had been. He decided to leave it there on the plate, feeling none too hungry anymore but felt that he would be later._

_The dormitory was empty, so Harry decided to go to the common room. The minute he had stepped towards the door, though, he was suddenly aware that people would be down there, and they would probably question him nonstop when they saw him._

When they saw him…

_Harry lunged towards the underside of his bed and retrieved the silky, transparent fabric of his Invisibility Cloak. He now thought of the Cloak differently, because it was a Deathly Hallow, but it now seemed more special to him than ever before. Harry threw it over himself and walked out the door and crept downstairs._

_Sure enough, there were many students and their family downstairs in the Gryffindor common room. They were huddled together, some wearing with tear tracks etched on their faces._

_Two people stood out to him at once: Ron and Hermione, both sitting next to each other in their preferred seats by the window. They were both gazing out the window was mixed emotions on their faces, the most prominent ones being sadness and relief. They were also holding hands._

_But Harry did not have the urge to go over with them. He couldn't bear sitting right now, which they most likely would continue to do if Harry joined them. There was someone else he desperately needed to see, to talk to, whom he hadn't seen properly in many months._

_It was about lunchtime, so Harry figured people would be down in the Great Hall, eating. As Harry exited through the portrait, (as stealthily as possible) he saw clearly the rubble of stone that had broken free of the walls, along with the glass broken from the windows._

_Most of it had been cleaned up since he had fallen asleep, Harry noticed as he strolled down the hallways and down the stairwells. Nevertheless, it would still take a while to completely clean and repair the rest of the castle. He also noticed that some of the people who had fled when the battle erupted had returned to their paintings, looking grim._

_Finally, Harry reached the open doors of the Great Hall. Everyone, students, family, and other people sat along the benches of the four dining tables, while the teacher's dining table was being used to treat the people and creatures still hurt from the battle. Harry was relieved to see that the dead bodies had been moved from the Great Hall. Though he did not know where they were, he was grateful that he didn't have to see the empty faces of the deceased, and so, apparently, the rest of the people thought so as well. _

_As people ate the leftovers of food since the house elves had abandoned the kitchen, sounds of clinking silverware filled their air, mixing with the sound of chatter and sobs. But none of the sounds were louder than Professor McGonagall's, who was standing at the head of the Great Hall, her hair still let down from the battle._

_"…we have arranged transportation to bring the rest of the students and anyone else who would like to come back to London through the Hogwarts Express. But, if you choose to Apparate, you may do so in the Hogsmeade village."_

_And then Harry saw the one he was looking for: she was easily recognized by her long, bright red hair. She was sitting with her family at the edge of the Gryffindor bench._

_Slowly and quietly, Harry crept over to where Ginny Weasley sat, who was looking at Professor McGonagall, just like everyone else in the Hall besides Harry._

_He brushed his hand on her arm from under the Invisibility Cloak; she started, and he had expected her to, but her family did not notice. Looking alarmed, Ginny was about to turn back around, but then Harry gripped her hand, still under the Cloak, and said as softly as he could, "Come with me."_

_Ginny's expression relaxed as she recognized his voice. She whispered into her mother's ear, who was sitting next to her, "I'm going to go out for a bit." Mrs. Weasley nodded._

_Ginny got up quietly, and doing as best she could by keeping her hand, which was holding Harry's, by her side so as to not give away that someone was leading her out the still-open doors of the Great Hall._

_Though Harry had not mentioned their destination, Ginny followed in silence. Opening the doors leading to outside from the entrance hall, Harry and Ginny set off onto the Hogwarts grounds. A few minutes later, they mutely made their way through the Hogwarts grounds, down to the great, black lake._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see comprehension dawning on Ginny's face as his destination became clearer: the secluded part of the lake, located near the Forbidden Forest, so the area was shadowed by the tall trees._

_Sitting down in this traditional area, Harry removed the Cloak. Ginny looked at him for a moment, then sighed, staring out into the lake._

_"Well…it's over," she said in a would-be conversational tone._

_"Yeah…" Harry replied, looking out into lake as well. _

_A few moments passed in strangling silence. Finally, Harry said, "Ginny…I really don't know how to explain this all to you."_

_Ginny looked back at him, and tightened her lips._

_"You don't have to, I guess," she said. "Dumbledore's orders, of course…"_

_"Yes, and no," Harry said._

_Ginny raised one of her eyebrows at him._

_"I reckon you have a right to know some of it," Harry concluded._

_And so, Harry explained everything that had happened since he arrived at Hogwarts late at night the day before. He told her about how Snape turned out to be some tragic hero, that Dumbledore had told Snape that in order for Voldemort to be destroyed, he must kill Harry, but how Dumbledore had known that trying to kill Harry would just release the bonds that linked their lives together. He also followed up with how he had walked up to Voldemort and allowed him to use the Killing Curse on him, talking with Dumbledore, and then sneaking off after his "death", all the way up to when Ginny was almost killed by Bellatrix and Harry went for her instead of Voldemort._

_"And then…well, you know the rest," Harry finished, somewhat lamely._

_Ginny's mouth was open slightly. She turned her face away from him, and gazed over the lake, her mouth still agape._

_"Er…wow," she managed to say after a moment. "Is that it?"_

_"Yep," said Harry. "At least, all I can tell you."_

_Ginny bit her lip and turned to Harry._

_"It was really hard, being without you," she said softly, now looking down at the grass. "I…"_

_"I know what you mean," said Harry, and Ginny looked up again. "I felt the same way."_

_A moment passed in silence, only broken by Ginny, who commented, "So…what now?"_

_"What d'ya mean?" Harry said quickly._

_"I mean…what about _us_?" she corrected._

_"Oh…" said Harry. He hadn't really thought about this. Was he supposed to offer that they get back together, or what? Suddenly, Harry remembered what he had said to Ron after Ginny had given Harry his birthday "present". It had to do with how Ginny didn't expect them to get married. But…now that Voldemort was gone, could they? This seemed very forward, but Harry couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather spend the rest of his life with._

_"I…" he said, his throat dry. "I think that after all we've been through, we should. I mean, there's no one else I want to be with. And after this," Their eyes locked. "I think you're the _only_ person I want to be with."_

_There seemed to be relief in Ginny's expression. She said, "I was thinking the same thing…" She looked startled for a moment, and then said, "Do you want to get married or something?"_

_Harry also looked startled at this comment. He hadn't been thinking exactly of marriage, but just that they would be together forever. But then he realized that that was _how_ they would be together forever._

_"Umm…er," Harry stuttered, looking out over the lake now. "Not…not right now. I…I mean, you're only… well, unless you… no, not now."_

_"Good," Ginny said, and out of the corner of his eye he could see her smiling. "I wasn't planning on getting married any time soon."_

_"Right," Harry agreed. He looked at her again. "But in the mean time, do you want to be together again? We've got no Voldemort to stop us."_

_"Yes, yes I do," she said, still smiling. Then she said in a more serious voice, "Forever…right?"_

_"Forever," Harry repeated with a nod, and Ginny flung her arms around him in a hug. He could hear happy sobs from her, and was surprised to feel tears streaming down his own cheeks. Finally, Ginny pulled her head back, her arms still around his neck, and they gazed into each other's eyes, she had that blazing look on her face as her lips found his._


End file.
